When I’m not writing, I have a number of hobbies to keep me entertained. I enjoy photography, and if you’ve been a regular reader of my site, then you’ll know I get a thrill telling you about my love affair with capturing the right moment. I also enjoy food. Being Italian, I’ve come to appreciate the big Sunday meals at an early age. In fact, I’ve shared those things with you many times. I can’t deny it is one of my favorite things to do as a way to bond the family. And, along with all the other hobbies I have, I love listening to music. There’s nothing quite like having a song appear on a playlist to take me by surprise and change my mood. Tell me the theme Raiders of the Lost Ark doesn’t make you want to jump on a horse and conquer the world. Yeah, music, there’s nothing like it.
But of all the hobbies I have, the one that excites me, and keeps me focused for hours, is playing games. One quick game of chess on my phone is a great way to distract me enough to feel refreshed and carry on with my day.
I have a number of new games I’ve been playing that I thought I would share with you. I enjoy getting lost in these games, so they may not be for you. I do find, however, they are entertaining enough for a mention.
SimCity BuildIt—I discovered this game one weekend while searching for something to do between eating lunch and going to my kid’s recital. If you haven’t played any of those time-sensitive games, where you’re creating a farm, a town, or in this case, a city, then take this as a lovely introduction. The first thing you’ll notice with SimCity BuildIt is its incredible attention to detail. Sometimes, I simply sit back and watch as the scene changes from day to night. The building model is quick. You have to zone areas for growth, add electricity, add water, and, if you really would like your citizens to be happy, a park or two. The economics are in perfect balance with player expectations. When you build a residential neighborhood, you don’t have to wait long to see growth. The added city that comes with the game is a pleasure to watch come alive. This is a great game to pick up for your phone or tablet.
Card Shark—I’ve played many Solitaire games, but none quite like Klondike in the Card Shark universe. The game has many other card games, such as DrawPoker and MemoryMatch, yet I really do enjoy having that quick game of Klondike when I travel. Even at home, it’s a wonderful app to play until dinner is ready. I think my favorite part about this app is all its options to customize the playing field. You can choose from a bevy of card decks to play, different backgrounds for the table, and even go so far as to choose if you you’d like uniform or messy stacks for the deal and discard piles. And to top it all off, the game looks great. I have yet to encounter an app with cards that look as realistic as those presented in Card Shark.
Action Movie FX—Okay, so this isn’t a game per se, but I can’t resist getting enough of this app. It’s a film studio on your phone, complete with real special effects from well-known movies. The most recent version I downloaded has the little robot from the new Star Wars movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens as one of the effects to use as part of a clip you can capture yourself. The way it works is you shoot a video with your camera or tablet, process the effect with the app and share it with all your friends. The app makes ordinary shots hilarious, and equally funny when sharing it with people you know. For instance, one morning I took a video of my wife sitting at the table having breakfast while she was reading. In the clip, I then added the Star Wars robot rolling into the scene and blasting her in her seat. We couldn’t stop laughing at the ridiculousness of the scene. The app also has explosions, rocket and other robot effects to play with. I love this app so much that I do consider it a great way to spend a few minutes playing with it to see what else it can do.
I had a longer list of games to go through, but these are the one I like the most.
Do you play games? What games do you play, and which game would you recommend I should play next?
Looking to God 
You should try the Simcity on PC. Its great.
SimCity is one of my favorite games of all time. I’ve played the original from the 80’s. Great game!
hi5*
Fallout 4 and Just Cause 3 are highly recommended Jack.
Nice list of games.
I’ve never been a Sim City fan, but if you like games like that I could recommend Civilization V. If you want more action in your game you could always try Total War.
I’m currently addicted to Xenoblade Chronicles X for the Wii U, and Fallout 4 on PC :]. If you’re into games like that I recommend both of them.
I was hopeless as a kid with Space Invaders and in later life dabbled with a basic Formula 1 race game for PC. When I was younger I loved all kinds of games; board games were a staple diet of Christmas and birthdays, and I’ve had the lot when it comes to the likes of Hornby and Scalextrix.
But in adult life I barely touch games and digital games simply don’t feature on my radar. A friend of mine has an iPad stuffed with game apps and I just don’t get it! I’ve got some kind of blind spot when it comes to games.
Space Invaders was also one of my favorites. I have yet to find a perfect emulator that would play the game like I remember it in the arcade.
No matter where i am with things in my life or how much i “must have” the latest game, i always come back to Theme Hospital on my Lap Top … its a classic
I’ll have to check out the game. I’ve never played it, yet I’ve always seen the ads for it. I’ll look for it.
I was always terrible at Simcity stuff. My favorite games were always the platformers like Mega Man, Castlevania, and Metroid. Loved the exploration aspect and the puzzles.